Open Strategic Mee.ng October 2013
Dec 04, 2014
Open Strategic Mee.ng October 2013
Overview
• Our aim of the mee3ng: – Expose anasr.org – Reflect on past, current & future ac3vi3es, collec3vely – Exchange and discuss feedback
• Structure – Review + Quick Q&A
• Break – Discussion
– Housekeeping
What is anasr.org?
• An independent ini3a3ve to develop a plaMorm of interac3on between Algerian academics, scien3sts and researchers inside and outside of Algeria.
• An interac3on space to discover, share and inspire Algerian intellect across the globe.
• Objec3ves, etc.
What is anasr.org?
What is anasr.org?
• Key characteris3cs: – Open network – Independent, transparent – Community-‐led – Grassroots – Prac3cal ac3on
• A means to contribute towards posi3ve change – Focus on science, research and academia
Membership?
Core Team (5)
Project Specific Volunteers (17)
Network Members (113)
Concep.on, vision and objec.ves
Concep.on
• APGUK: a network for postgraduate students
• Established in 2007 – A community
• Events, discussions, etc. – A virtual campus
• Facebook group
• Last mee3ng 2011 – Redundant of its name? – Redefine its vision
Concep.on
• APGUKs wanted to keep working together
• Focused projects – … – Directory of academics – Networking space
• Directory of people, products, places • Field specific groups, newsle]ers • Project spaces
– anasr.org was born
Vision & Objec.ves
• An interac3on space to discover, share and inspire Algerian intellect across the globe. – Promotes interac.on and exchange that transcends physical constraints and borders
– Build bridges between members in and out of Algeria – Promotes posi.ve ac.on
• Objec3ves so far realised through: – Website – Magazine – Awards
Milestones
• April 2011: anasr.org conceived • Regular mee3ngs • Coding & development
• Dec/Jan 2011/2012: ini3al websites developed • Directory, profiles
• April 2012: Inspire Magazine launched • Jan 2013: Algerian Paper of the Year Awards launched
• April 2013: Extra website features launched • Q&A, Stories
Website Also known as anasr.org!
What is anasr.org?
• A virtual academic network • A plaMorm for sharing and interac3on • A promoter of Algerian intellect and academia.
• Hence the mo]os: – Discover – Share – Inspire
A brief history of anasr.org
• Student early days • The end of big Government • A directory to expose and inspire
The last genera.on grows apart
• At APGUK’s last general mee3ng • Strong desire to keep community alive • And work for the benefit of Algeria
• New projects are welcomed. • A network is created
The network
The rise of the social web
• A new paradigm • Bo]om up, organic • Empowers and engages individuals
• A plaMorm to share knowledge: – Q&A – Stories
Q&A
• Inspired by StackExchange • Social media version of discussion forums
• Focus on ques3ons. • Let users vote on important ques3ons • And good answers.
Q&A
Stories
• Inspired by – Digg.com – Silicon Valley Startups (Hacker News)
• Social media version of News
Stories
Stories
Social media spirit
• Not just tools but also our values • Bo]om up. Community driven. • Transparency and openness
• Open website – Content management system – Non technical people can contribute
Open website (drupal)
What about Inspire?
• Tools and technology are great
• But passion and inspira3on is what drives – Inspire Magazine. – Awards.
Achievements/Challenges
• The website: – 5,228 visits, 19,000 page views. – 2,594 unique visitors – 51% returning visitors
• Directory: – 112 members. – From all over the world. 55% From Algeria. – Varied members – Beyond our social network
Country Visits % Visits
United Kingdom 2,432 45.99%
Algeria 2,199 41.58%
United States 212 4.01%
France 174 3.29% Canada 62 1.17% (not set) 28 0.53%
Saudi Arabia 20 0.38%
Achievements/Challenges
• Directory: – Missing profiles
• Stories: – A]racts visitors especially from facebook – No contribu3ons. Only the team.
• Q&A: – No ac3vity
Aims for the future
• Increase membership base – Especially young academics in Algeria
• Increase interac3on – Brain storm. Feedback
Inspire Magazine
Inspire Magazine
• Promote and inspire the work of Algerian scien3sts and researchers across the globe
• Ini3al editorial mission: – Expose the work of Algerian researchers, scien3sts and prac33oners
• Build bridges between Algerians in and out of Algeria – Engage and inspire young researchers – Promote a culture of outreach and science communica3on
• Including wri,ng and communica,on skills
Inspire Magazine: Overview
• Launched in April 2012 • 5 type of publica3ons
• Features • Event reports • Interviews • Opinions • Theses
• Contribu3ons sought through invita3on only • Three editors • Managed online, including adver3sing
Inspire Magazine: in numbers
• Sept 2012 – Oct 2013 – Published 31 ar3cles (rejected 5)
• 11 contribu3ons from Algeria
– Received about 15K page views • 5600 unique visitors, ~30% returning visitors
– Reach 8K readers • 2.7K Algeria • 2K UK • The rest of spanned the US, India, Malaysia and the UAE
Inspire Magazine: Setbacks
• Far from a “professional magazine” • Small number of contribu3ons
– Avg. ~2 publica3ons per month – Long editorial process
• Sparse engagement – 25 comments
• Need to improve on the number of publica3ons • Need to improve engagement
Awards
Awards
• Recognise and celebrate the achievements of Algerian scien3sts
• Do so while fully engaging the wider community of Algerian scien3sts and researcher in and out of the country
Awards: Overview
• Launched in January 2013 • 5 categories of nomina3ons
– Biological sciences – Chemical Sciences – Computer Science and Engineering – Medicine, Pharmacy and Veterinary Science – Physical Sciences and Mathema3cs
• Process: Nomina3on, shortlis3ng, detailed review • Announcement, and report
Awards: in numbers
• 160 nomina3ons – 62 Biological Sciences – 19 Chemical Sciences – 33 Computer Science and Engineering – 16 Medicine, Pharmacy and Veterinary Sciences – 30 Physical Sciences and Mathema3cs
• 15 researchers for shortlis3ng • 26 interna3onal senior researchers to review
Awards: Prizes
• Commemora3on plaques and cer3ficates • Exclusive interviews with Inspire Magazine
Awards: Achievements
• Engaged the Algerian and the wider community in a posi3ve ac3on
• Iden3fied, rewarded and exposed interes3ng and cuung edge research stemming out of Algeria
Awards: Setbacks
• Excluded some disciplines – Namely social sciences
• Categorisa3on / reviewing issue • More incen3ves?
Finances
Finances: Overall Expenses
Website maintenance
51% Awards 49%
Website maintenance
Awards cost £516.67
Finances: Website Maintenance – Yearly costs
2% (£8) 14% (£74.75) 5% (£27)
79% (£406.92)
Domain name
Host
Unique IP
Private Server
Finances: Awards cost structure
39% (£196)
10% (£50.16)
5% (£22.8)
46% (£231.5)
Glass Plaques
Cer3ficates
Packaging
Shipping
Finances: Contributors
54% (£548.4)
43% (£437) anasr.org
Dona3ons
Finances: Setbacks
• Cost: anasr.org ac3vi3es are non-‐profit • Crea3ng and maintaining the website + organising events under its umbrella takes effort, 3me and money. – Need for fund development. – Dependable source for website maintenance. – Improved cashflow ⇒ wider prospects and be]er opportuni3es for events/ conferences.
BREAK.
Discussion & Feedback
Structure
• Open discussion (~30 min) • Closed discussion (~1hr 30mins)
– Feedback on • (Re) vision and objec3ves • anasr.org ac3vi3es and features • Future plans
Open discussion
• Ques.on: How to mo3vate the Algerian community of academics, scien3sts and researchers to connect, engage and collaborate towards posi3ve change?
Probing ques,ons • Is the Algerian scien3fic community willing to connect? • What might stand in the way? • Do they have the 3me beyond their busy day jobs/lives? • Is there a use for such a network as anasr.org? • Is science and academia so vast and specialised that a general network is not feasible?
Closed discussion (part 1)
• (Re) What is our vision and objec3ves? • How can we improve our current ac3vi3es (assuming we do not want to alter them) to realise our vision and implement our objec3ves? – How can we improve the website? – How can we improve Inspire Magazine? – How can we improve the Awards? – How can we improve our finances?
Closed discussion (part 2)
• Should we expand our ac3vi3es? • If so, which ac3vi3es could help us realise our vision and
objec3ves more effec3vely? E.g.: – Collabora3ng with other groups/organisa3ons/ini3a3ves – Launching the annual conference – Regular informal discussion sessions
• Possible ques3ons to address for each item above – How does this ac3vity fit our vision/objec3ves? – What is the 3mescale to realise this ac3vity? – What do we need to do? – How should we do it / resources needed?